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271. Understanding Non-Violent Movements Today: A Conversation with Dr. Maria J. Stephan

Author:
Eli Stiefel and Maria J. Stephan
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Dr. Maria J. Stephan is a senior policy fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, where she focuses on civil resistance, nonviolent movements and their relevance to conflict transformation and democratic development. At the Atlantic Council, she co-leads the Future of Authoritarianism project. Previously, Stephan was lead foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), where she worked on both policy and operations for Afghanistan and Syria engagements. Earlier, Stephan directed policy and research at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC), a private foundation dedicated to developing and disseminating knowledge about nonviolent struggle. She simultaneously taught courses on human rights and civil resistance at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and American University’s School of International Service.
Topic:
Civil Society, Diplomacy, Social Movement, Women, and Protests
Political Geography:
Syria, North America, and United States of America

272. Celebrating the Cultures of the Excluded

Author:
Kristina Bogos
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:
Amidst the rising anti-refugee and anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, Muslim children in the Washington DC area took a stand this spring in an unconventional way: the expression of their cultures through song, poetry, and dance at Arena Stage in the Mead Center for American Theater.
Topic:
Culture, Refugees, Immigrants, Trump, and Protests
Political Geography:
Middle East and United States of America

273. Venezuela Is in a Dark Place, But There Are Ways Forward

Author:
Jennifer McCoy
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Venezuelan elections, characterized by unequal media access, unfair use of public financing and pressure on public employees to support government-backed candidates, have long disadvantaged the opposition. However, in light of President Nicolás Maduro’s public approval ratings hovering around 20% and Venezuela’s current recession, the opposition Democratic Unity coalition (MUD) thought it could easily win at least half of the gubernatorial elections on October 15, 2017. When the national election council announced the results, however, it showed the opposition winning only five of the 23 races.
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Elections, Economy, Protests, and Journalism
Political Geography:
South America and Venezuela

274. What’s Going on in Catalonia?

Author:
Astrid Barrio and Bonnie N. Field
Publication Date:
12-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
On 1 October 2017, Catalonia held a referendum on independence from Spain. Catalonia, in the northeastern corner of Spain, has a population of seven and a half million. With Barcelona as its capital, it is a cultural and economic hub. Previously, in early September, the Catalan parliament had approved the self-determination referendum law to regulate the vote. At the behest of the Spanish government, which considered the law unconstitutional, Spain’s constitutional court suspended it and the referendum. But the Catalan government moved ahead anyway. In turn, the Spanish authorities took action to prevent the referendum, including arresting several Catalan government officials. The police action provoked widespread protests in Catalonia.
Topic:
Self Determination, Elections, Protests, and Separatism
Political Geography:
Spain, Catalonia, and Barcelona

275. What Ukraine Should Demand of Itself and from the West

Author:
Natalie A. Jaresko
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
This paper is part of CTR's Working Paper Series: "Eastern Voices: Europe's East Faces an Unsettled West." Once again, the world is grappling with historic challenges, as it did when the Soviet Union fell in 1991, and once more, Ukraine is at the forefront of these challenges. The Kremlin’s attempts to destroy Ukraine’s European aspirations is simply one of Russia's many challenges to the post-World War II international liberal order. The actions of the Kremlin -- be they in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Syria; in the U.S. electoral process; or in the funding of far-right and far-left political parties throughout Europe -- have but one purpose: to destroy the transatlantic partnership and the principles of the post-World War II order and peace. Ukraine is simply one of the battlegrounds, but it is a key because it is in Europe. Unity of the transatlantic partnership and of the democratic nations is critical. Unity of support for the Ukrainian transition process is a serious part of this battle, because Ukraine’s successful democratic, rule-of-law based transformation is key to ensuring a Europe whole, free and at peace.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Territorial Disputes, Economy, and Protests
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and Crimea

276. No Pyrotechnics, No Progress

Author:
June Teufel Dreyer
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Pacific Forum
Abstract:
Though free of the large-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations and acerbic exchanges that have characterized the recent past, the cold peace between China and Japan continued in the early months of 2017. There were no meetings of high-level officials, and none were scheduled. Mutual irritants continued on familiar topics: defense and territorial issues, Taiwan, trade and tourism, and textbooks and history.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Social Movement, Conflict, Protests, and Trade
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia

277. At the Edges of Social Protest. Illustrations from South Africa | Sur les bords de la protestation sociale. Illustrations sud-africaines

Author:
Jérôme Tournadre
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
This article echoes the now recurring calls to broaden the conceptualization of social movements. Moving away from classic definitions, the author suggests that certain elements of protest activity can be better understood through an examination of its actors in their most ordinary and daily social relations as opposed to the exceptional moments when they face political power. This study is based on a series of inquiries conducted since 2009 in various South African urban areas with active militants affiliated with organizations shaping the agenda on social discontent. More specifically, this article draws attention to how these collectives develop ties with their most immediate social environment, that is in impoverished, working-class neighborhoods.
Topic:
Politics, Social Movement, and Protests
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

278. Iraq’s Year of Rage

Author:
Mieczyslaw P. Boduszynski
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Democracy
Institution:
National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:
Iraqis of all ethnic and sectarian groups are fed up with the ineptitude and corruption of their political leaders and the institutions they control. Since 2015, they have turned out in record numbers to protest against their political elite. The protests that unfolded in 2015 and 2016 have highlighted two failings of Iraq’s post-2003 “democratic” order: 1) the entrenchment of a corrupt “partyocracy” that has captured the state and deepened sectarian divisions, and 2) the weakness of state institutions and the absence of the rule of law that have encouraged widespread corruption and fostered broad popular distrust of the post-Saddam Iraqi state.
Topic:
Social Movement, Democracy, Rule of Law, Protests, and Diversity
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

279. Banners, Barricades, and Bombs: How Social Movements Affect Public Opinion

Author:
Amanda Pearson
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
It’s an argument we’ve heard before: governments should not negotiate with terrorist organizations that engage in violent activity. This idea is pervasive throughout the academic and policy worlds, but what about public opinion? Do citizens think the government should shun social movements that adopt extreme tactics often associated with terrorist organizations? Social protest takes various forms, and organized social movements have various intentions—from benign disruption to purposeful violence. In their forthcoming paper for Comparative Political Studies, Connor Huff and Dominika Kruszewska look at how the tactical choices of social movements affect public opinion about whether or not—and to what degree—governments should negotiate with social movements.1 In research involving 2,000 Polish citizens, Huff and Kruszewska document what many already believe: people were approximately 30% less likely to support government negotiations with organizations that use bombs compared with occupations. “Our results show that public support decreases for both separatist organizations and social movements that adopt bombing as a tactic when compared against occupations and demonstrations,” they write. The researchers find mixed support for whether respondents think organizations that use bombings should receive fewer concessions once negotiations begin.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Terrorism, Social Movement, Protests, Violence, and Demonstrations
Political Geography:
Global Focus

280. The Ferguson Conjuncture: Why the Humanities Matter Now

Author:
George Lipsitz
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
Abstract:
The killing of Michael Brown and the callous and cruel responses to it by legally constituted authorities have rightly been perceived as evidence of failures of the criminal justice system and the political system. In addition, the events, actions and ideas emerging from the crucible of conflict in Ferguson also reveal a betrayal of the promise of the humanities to teach discernment, judgment and empathy as tools for envisioning a common and creative human existence.
Topic:
Human Rights, Race, Law Enforcement, Inequality, State Violence, and Protests
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America